What's on your reading/listening list?

I'm currently reading Death on Yosemite, which is an account of every known death in America's first national park.

Once I finish that I will resume going through all the Little House books -- in Spanish.

A history of the world in 100 objects
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/about/british-museum-objects/

Also, 25 October 1415 is the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt so reread Henry V.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=680NlRI3v2I

Quote: Pacomartin

A history of the world in 100 objects
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/about/british-museum-objects/

The fun in such works, as good as they may be, is to point out all the objects left out.

I think I'll look for a lecture series or an ebook on ancient India next. Preferably one which covers up to the time of Alexander the Great.

Just saw Jurassic World.
Really fun movie.
During the previews, they showed Matt Damon's next movie , The Martian.
I was intrigued so I picked up the book, The Martian. Reading it now, very good. Astronaut stranded on Mars and has to figure out how to survive for 4 years. Good realistic science fiction.

For a change, I'm listening to "Cockpit Confidential" by Patrick Smith.

It's ok so far. But I wonder, why do pilots feel they need to reassure the flying public every other paragraph?

On the fun side, I'm rereading the Tony Hillerman series about the lives of the Navajo tribal police. The names of some of the family's are accurate to this day. He must have spent plenty of time on the Big Res. in Az the way he describes the topography and continually speaks of the multi tribal spiritual beliefs.

On the serious side I am reading "Stress free Living" by Amit Sood. Recommended and sold at Mayo Clinic. It is just a slog for me to read, I had to restart it half way through. Some days 3 pages is all I can stand, some days a chapter or two.

Other than that, reading is what feeds my ocd, pretty much if it's in front of me I will read it. I read plenty of alternative financial blogs and world news.

As Mike Duncan is nearly finished with the French revolution (it's a long one), I've opted for a related Great Courses lecture series on the same topic. It's nice to play the "agree/disagree" game. Duncan got really close to what I learned in high school, though providing a lot more detail. To be fair, in high school we got through it, including the Napoleonic era, in a bit over three weeks. Duncan took considerably longer than that because of the fine detail.

Now for something completely different, I'm listening to "What If?" by Randall Munroe. the subtitle is "Serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions." It's narrated by Wil Wheaton.

Randall Munroe is the guy who does the xkcd web comic.

It's amazing how many absurd hypothetical ways there are to destroy the word or end human civilization :)

Munroe's book ended far too soon. I'm sure I'll relisten in the vey near future.

Between his writing style, the quick jokes and quips, easy way of explaining the gist of complex science, and Wheaton's performance, this book perfectly educates and entertains in equal measure.

There's the running gag with citations. He'll mention a blatantly obvious fact, then quickly say "citation needed." For example "The Empire State building hasn't sunk through the Earth's crust -citation needed- and it's more than a few days old -citation needed."

He breaks this up from time to time by adding a citation. Example "You're mostly made of cells -citation: I had someone sneak into your bedroom with a microscope to check while you were sleeping."

For now it's off to the middle of the end of the Roman Republic with Tom Holland's "Rubicon." (The beginning of the end will be Mike Duncan's upcoming book "The Storm Before the Storm.")